Chapter 99

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

He said, "I can also send people into the capital to help you find people, kill people, gather intelligence — wouldn't that be even more secure for you?"

"I don't want that, it's too slow and too circuitous." Shaowei's answer was as concise as ever: "I must go faster."

As Shaowei spoke, her gaze shifted away from Liu Qi's straight shoulders and fell upon the rain mist and moisture piled above the pool water, seeing the dense fog stacked like phantom mountains.

By now she could clearly see those Black Mountains that Jiang Fu had once spoken of, the ones that made her angry.

She was born incapable of being that Yu Gong who moves mountains; she only wanted to charge straight into the mountains and split them until stone cracked and mountains collapsed.

Shaowei withdrew her gaze, looked back at Liu Qi before her, and told him plainly and clearly:

"If I stay, naturally I must help you do things to repay you. But what can I do? Be your assassin? Or your general? If you have the heart to teach, and I have the heart to do it, I would naturally have the confidence to do it well. But I cannot set my mind at ease; my nature is impatient, my temper bad. I fear I would help you do things while looking toward Chang'an City, scratching my head and stamping my feet, inevitably questioning myself at every moment what exactly I am doing, why I haven't gone to find her yet, why I haven't gone to kill those people... In short, once I stay, I would feel my feet stagnating and circling; just thinking of that feeling is terrifying, and I would therefore doubt and grow weary of myself."

Shaowei rambled on, her words extraordinarily blunt and unconventional: "Moreover, although I don't dislike you, being here with you, I am not happy, not at ease, not satisfied."

The earlier words were fine, but these three 'nots' alone were like three giant stones falling from the sky one after another, smashing Liu Qi into astonishment and bewilderment, even a moment of helplessness; he stammered for the first time in his life: "Why... why? Where did I do poorly?"

A Ya, kneeling with head bowed, was also utterly astonished and even annoyed; she raised her head, looking incredulously at that girl who seemed incomparably greedy, as if she fundamentally didn't know what kind of preferential treatment she had received.

The two standing, four eyes meeting.

At this moment, Shaowei's eyes held not a shred of malice, only utmost honesty toward Liu Qi, and utmost loyalty to herself; she said: "I don't like that when I want to learn to ride a horse I have to wait for you to have someone lead a horse over; when I want to eat I have to wait for you to have someone deliver food. At first you gave me a room and a blade, and I certainly thought that was good, but I knew it was because you wanted to show goodwill to me; since it's given by you, it can naturally be taken back at any time."

Liu Qi hurriedly said: "No, I wouldn't..."

"I don't care whether you would or not." Shaowei cut off his words: "I simply don't want to care whether you would or wouldn't; otherwise wouldn't I have to constantly speculate on your good and bad, your joy and anger?"

Liu Qi was stunned, for the first time in his life thoroughly frozen like this.

"What I want, I must go take myself; only then can I hold it firmly and use it with peace of mind, even if it means taking risks, I am willing to bear them." Shaowei said: "Only this way can I follow my heart and feel gratified, only then can I willingly let loose my hands and feet and do everything well."

Having spoken, she extended the short knife gripped in her right hand toward him: "So, this is returned to you."

Today her tone was not arrogant or irritable, nor did she mean to lose her temper; rather it was entirely composed and calm after reflection, yet it gave Liu Qi a sense of step-by-step retreat; he looked at that short knife and felt that those goodwill gestures he had thought flawless were all returned to him intact, unchanged.

Liu Qi fell into a true trance.

Truly, he was extremely attentive to her; precisely because he was so certain, when facing her "accusation" of "not happy, not at ease, not satisfied," he felt astonishment and incomprehension, as if his cognition had been overturned.

From the start, he had been carefully observing her, then treating her in the most suitable way, including giving her sufficient respect, even indulging her strange self-esteem and temper; all this was because she was rare enough, a "usable person" well worth his serious recruitment.

This seemingly couldn't count as a mistake; precisely because it wasn't a mistake, she had never gotten angry because of it, merely telling him she disliked it very much.

He was greatly shocked by her "disliking very much"; the shock was because of surprise, the surprise because he had never thought that under such treatment from him, someone could still feel such dislike.

Disappointment and frustration were hardly worth mentioning among the emotions.

He realized his bone-deep self-righteousness; his so-called "prescribing the right medicine for the illness" was actually all superficial and calculative, never truly looking at her eye-to-eye to understand her temperament and will.

This was not merely one matter, but a collision of fundamentally different concepts formed since childhood, suddenly appearing in a way he had never imagined, striking the natural arrogance he himself had never been aware of; he was hit squarely by her words, that arrogance disintegrating in bewilderment, raising flying dust in his heart, choking his heart as if it were coughing, beating faster and faster.

This feeling was extremely unfamiliar; Liu Qi received that short knife, finally clearly perceiving her self-esteem, her autonomy, her character — just how lofty and proud, how sharp-edged and distinct.

He looked at her again, only now realizing that the current her, compared to the her when he had first brought her back, had already undergone obvious change.

During this time, she had healed her injuries, grown new flesh and blood, and also forged a more resilient and more certain posture within this pain.

When she came, she was a wild beast covered in wounds, crouching low, fur bristling, ready to attack at any moment.

Now her figure was much straighter, robust and lithe, head raised high, rustling proudly, arrogantly.

She stood this straight, not allowing others to look down on her; therefore he also had to meet her gaze levelly, even if... even if in this chaotic state of mind, he actually felt this her was extremely adorable.

That was not the adorable of flattering weakness, of pitiable weakness; on the contrary, it was the adorable of smug triumph, of bright fullness, of unyielding perseverance, of dragon-subduing tiger-taming — a respectable, admirable adorable.

A Ya was also dazed; she completely hadn't expected that after those "incomparably greedy" words would come such an unexpected discourse, all things she had never imagined.

And the next moment she saw her Master extend that knife out once more.

"The knife you returned, I accept." Unlike last time when he held a candle in one hand and passed the knife with the other, this time Liu Qi presented the knife with both hands cupped: "Now I gift it to you again, as my sincerity; I hope you will accept it."

Shaowei hesitated a moment, in that instant thinking of many things, but in the end received it again, only unable to help saying: "I've accepted your token of sincerity, but I have no token to gift back to you."

Liu Qi suddenly revealed a smile; he knew what this sentence represented, and this was enough.

"Your willingness to accept it again is the best sincerity and token."

Shaowei met his eyes, sensing that this person's gaze was somehow different now, and she felt even more respected, so she was very willing to make a promise: "Rest assured, you help me, and I will help you too. If things go smoothly for me in Chang'an, I will surely repay your kindness of assistance."

She honestly added: "But I'm going to handle business; I still must put my own matters first."

Liu Qi smiled and nodded: "I understand, that's only natural."

The word she spoke most often in her words was 'I'; this innate self was also one of the dazzling aspects of her.

He truly had eyes but no pearls before, actually thinking she was merely rare; only now did he know she was clearly unique, heaven-made, the only one in the world, unobtainable even by divine hands, only to be encountered by chance, not sought.

And he had nearly missed her.

Fortunately she was generous, spoke frankly without reservation, giving him the chance to gift the knife again.

He subconsciously said: "The witchcraft team won't depart until ten days later; your injuries aren't fully healed yet, why not recuperate a bit more?"

"I want to go prepare earlier." Shaowei said: "The injuries are eighty percent healed; the rest can just be recuperated casually on the road."

She couldn't wait until all pain vanished before setting out; might as well set out carrying the pain, let it wear away slowly on the road, also reminding her what price she paid last time, how to make those people repay a hundredfold.

Then she heard Liu Qi say: "But today the rain hasn't stopped; why not wait until tomorrow when it clears before leaving?"

Shaowei turned her head to look at the wind and rain outside the pavilion: "The rain is already very fine; who said departure must wait for a clear day?"

Liu Qi failed to detain her again; he himself didn't know why he was so persistent, perhaps because he had just now 'seen' her, feeling the sensation of 'white-haired as if new,' wanting to understand her a bit more.

"Then let's drink a cup of tea." He finally said: "Drink a cup of tea before leaving."

This time Shaowei did not refuse again, and sat down with him, one before the other, around the stove in the pavilion.

A Ya poured two cups of tea, proactively picked up one of them, and handed it to Shaowei.

Shaowei was somewhat flattered; the tea she received in her hand was warm, not as if it had been steeped with ice frost.

She held the tea and looked at A Ya, but saw the other party lower her head, seemingly a bit ill at ease.

Shaowei did not know what she was thinking, but for the sake of this cup of tea, for the sake of the meals and medicine these past days, Shaowei spoke: "A Ya, thank you for this period of time."

A Ya looked up in surprise, meeting the girl's serious expression, and her cheeks actually flushed "shua" in an instant; her gaze dodged away, and she lightly nodded.

The stove fire was bright red, the tea steam swirling; at the moment of parting, Liu Qi asked: "Does she have a name? A list must be drawn up later."

These words concealed a selfishness only he knew; he very much wanted to know her name.

But she held the tea, gazed outside the pavilion, thought for a good while, and the answer she gave was clearly the result of deliberation: "Hua Li."

Something deliberated over ought to have considerable craftsmanship, but this one...

"Hua Li?" Liu Qi recited it once, confirming with her: "A civet cat with three flower colors?"

"Mm..." Shaowei muttered: "Just call it this."

Liu Qi, still unable to learn her name, couldn't help asking: "Why choose this name?"

"It wasn't me who chose it." Shaowei lowered her eyelids, gazing at her own reflection in the tea soup in her hand, yet seeing another face; she spoke as if to herself: "If she were still alive, hearing this ridiculous name, she would know it was me coming to find her."

"Not ridiculous at all; it's a very good name." Liu Qi said: "It sounds naturally unconstrained, just right for a Divine Witch who communicates with the mountains, rivers, and living beings."

Shaowei originally felt a bit embarrassed; hearing him say this, she couldn't help looking up and asking: "Really?"

Liu Qi didn't answer, merely dipped his finger in some tea water and wrote those two characters stroke by stroke on the low table: "Look, the structure of these two characters is also very good-looking when written out."

Shaowei tilted her head to look, but felt it was clearly his calligraphy that was good-looking; however, after looking a few more times, it seemed indeed pleasing to the eye as well.

Liu Qi watched her tilt her head and stare at the characters, and felt she matched this name even more; he couldn't help trying to call out: "Hua Li?"

Shaowei immediately looked up at him.

The youth's mouth corner spilled a trace of a smile, and he explained: "Nothing, just letting you get used to it a bit."

Shaowei suspected he was deliberately teasing but had no evidence, so she could only sit back up straight, gulped down the cup of tea A Ya had handed over completely, then set the tea cup down, grabbed that short knife, and stood up.

Her movements were neat; Liu Qi also rose accordingly. A voice in his heart said he should also be neat, not detain her any longer, otherwise it would appear truly strange and lacking in grace.

So he did not allow himself to go out of the pavilion to see her off; he rose and stopped right there, only finally saying to her: "I will have someone escort you. The mountains are heavy, the road far, severe winter approaches; you must take care."

Shaowei stood ramrod straight, nodded: "Good, you take care too."

Having said this, thinking this parting knew not whether they still had lives to meet again, and also thinking of the scenes before death in her previous life, Shaowei rarely also gave rise to a wisp of emotion, yet knew not how to express it, so in this moment that seemed like a parting, and might also be a final parting, she haphazardly squeezed out a smile with some encouragement, saying: "Anyway, we both must take care; the rest we'll speak of when I reach Chang'an, Liu Qi... I'm leaving!"

When she smiled her cheeks were very round, exceptionally lively and radiant, though only for an instant.

Waiting until that light back figure walked far away, Liu Qi still couldn't quite return to his senses; this was the first time he had seen her smile... moreover, her mouth had uttered his full name, his name being called out by her like this was truly wondrous.

That back figure completely disappeared, Liu Qi then lowered his eyes, looking at those two characters "Hua Li" on the tea table.

Fortunately the surroundings were damp, the tea traces faded very slowly.

The characters will fade, but he thought, he and she would meet again very soon.

Unknown exactly how long the characters on the tea table took to completely vanish, but after that, these two characters were properly written by officials on the Witch List for entering the capital.

Witches selected from various places all need someone to recommend; everything regarding "Hua Li" was operated and arranged by Zhuang Yuanzhi in the dark.

After receiving the letter from the Commandery Prince's Mansion, Zhuang Yuanzhi quickly hit the road, then quickly hit the grindstone; within a short time the correspondence between him and Liu Qi, turning from open to secret, had already reached over a dozen letters; the more he wrote the more spirited he became, practically making one suspect the Sixth Prince had put a Gu in the letters.

Tianhe Year 16, the 15th day of the Winter Month, in the Witchcraft List records only carried this simple line: 【Age fifteen, fatherless and motherless, innate spiritual qi, as if fallen from heaven】 — the Witch Girl Hua Li, thus followed the troupe northward, heading for Chang'an City.

In the moving carriage, Shaowei wore colorful Witchcraft Attire, braided two thick braids with colorful ropes, her forehead adorned with colorful bead stones, colorful to the utmost, just like a real colorful civet.

Opposite Shaowei sat two Witch Girls slightly older in age; one hugged a big box holding spiders, the other had a black snake coiled on the arm in her sleeve; they initially saw Shaowei's bosom wriggling and were very curious; upon seeing that what crawled out from her collar was actually a yellow-white little bird head, they couldn't help feeling greatly disappointed, only feeling this little companion was truly an unprecedentedly gentle and good-natured one, and afterwards would inevitably be looked down upon and bullied.

Shaowei still did not know she had already fallen into such a pitiable image; at this moment she lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, looked outside, and saw only drizzling rain, misty and vast.

She looked into that rain mist, and her mind suddenly flashed with distant images and sounds.

At that time she was also on the road; she said she absolutely would not go to Chang'an, but Jiang Fu asked her:

【If one day in the future, you have no choice but to go there?】

【What do you mean 'have no choice'? Are you going to tie me up and take me?】

【This Master naturally would not. But the affairs of the world sometimes sprout many hands and feet, pushing and dragging people forward.】

【Then I will chop off all those hands and feet.】

She answered decisively at that time, but now she actually was pushed and dragged there, and only upon truly reaching this step did she discover she fundamentally couldn't bear to chop off those "hands and feet".

Because within those "hands and feet" there is hate, there is anger, yet there is also a fundamental thing that gives rise to hate and anger in her.

When she studied, she once asked Jiang Fu, why does the character "Love" look like it's walking?

Jiang Fu smiled and answered her: 【Love is wanting to cherish and protect the other, and being willing to toil and labor for them, even to the ends of the earth pursuing without abandoning, therefore it takes the form of walking.】

At that time Shaowei only half-understood, feeling this explanation had no connection whatsoever.

And now she is already walking on the road.

She must firmly pull back on those hands and feet, rush all the way, kill what should be killed, retrieve what should be retrieved.

The carriage horses went step by step, entering the severe winter region.